As San Franciscans, particularly those of us who live on the Westside, we are witnessing our City bursting at the seams, with over 883,000 people. In just 7.5 years, we have grown by 78,000 residents.
The question we face is: How many more people can we accommodate without adversely affecting our safety, quality of life, the character of our neighborhoods? Our crumbling infrastructure , which is vulnerable to another major earthquake, was built for a city of just 715,000 people?
ABAG, with its Plan Bay Area 2040, calls for 1,100,000 people by 2040. We learned at a recent forum on the future of Transportation in San Francisco, the SF Planning Department projects our City to balloon to over 1,500,000 people by 2065!
ABAG, with its Plan Bay Area 2040, calls for 1,100,000 people by 2040. … the SF Planning Department projects our City to balloon to over 1,500,000 people by 2065!”
Enough is enough!
Almost all the dialogue over housing in San Francisco revolves around the belief that we must significantly accelerate the construction of new housing - half blocks or block-large massive construction of "sky's the limit" condos and apartment buildings. Advocates of denser housing have declared that the era of the single family home is over. They are also dictating what kind of housing will be constructed – very low income, "affordable", market rate, luxury, mini units or 2-3 bedroom units that can accommodate growing families.
Opponents of more housing in SF say that the surrounding Bay Area counties need to do their fair share of adding housing. Even if some communities are not doing their fair share, they suffer the same massive infrastructure problems we have in San Francisco, including crumbling roads, traffic congestion, the need for more schools, fire stations, and more water. They, as we, are challenged by over-burdensome regulatory hurdles and exorbitant building costs.
Both sides are fundamentally wrong. More of the same, while throwing more money at the problem, will not solve the issue of affordability. We must reject the agendas of the special interests who are vested in the tired, failed policies of the status quo, freeing us to think outside the box.
The solution isn't with Supply-Side Economics. Indeed, we can't build ourselves out of this crisis in our small city of not even 47 square miles. The solution is achievable with Demand-Side Economics.
The inflationary pressures on the housing market has been manufactured by bad public policies, e.g., tax breaks for Twitter and other tech companies so they would bring their jobs and employees from outside the City into San Francisco, as well as adverse side effects from Prop.13 and rent control.
Homeowners and renters feel trapped in their current housing. Under current state law, if an empty nester/ homeowner over 55 wants to downsize, they may end up paying far more in property taxes than if they stayed put. The same is true for long-time renters who can't afford to move to a smaller apartment because they will be paying far more in rent.
So we make the following three modest proposals:
When the tax breaks for Twitter and other tech companies expire next year, don't renew them, and don't provide additional tax breaks to the tech industry.
Government should not be in the business of playing favorites or picking winners and losers in the private sector.
Vote Yes on Prop. 5 on November 6th. This would allow homeowners who are 55 or older to sell their home in SF and other urban areas, and purchase a less expensive home anywhere else in California without paying more in property taxes. That will significantly increase the supply of multi-bedroom homes for young, growing families that are currently priced out of the market without having to build one additional unit of family housing here and elsewhere.
Businesses who want to move here or expand operations here should consider decentralizing their operations and setting up satellite offices in college towns in the Central Valley and outside our urban core. It would be a win-win-win across the board. Kids graduating from Chico State, UC Davis, Sac State, Stanislaus State, UC Merced, Fresno State, and Bakersfield State who are receiving cutting edge STEM educations could get good-paying entry level jobs in our best and most innovative industries, while the corporations would benefit by employing kids fresh out of college for less salary and benefits than they have to pay in SF or the Bay Area. The costs for land and buildings is far less in the rural counties than here, and the rural counties, which currently have unemployment rates as high as 7.5% would benefit by the financial shot in the arm enabling them to provide housing and services for their homeless populations to keep them there, rather than migrating to SF.
Additionally, if corporations expand outside the Bay Area, it will reduce the Inflationary demand for housing here and in our surrounding communities.
We're not advocating that this is a cure-all, but we hope our proposals will create a fresh dialogue which will move the ball forward.
Christopher L. Bowman was born in San Francisco, grew up in Palo Alto, and returned to the City in 1975.
Keith Bogdon grew up in San Francisco. He and his wife are homeowners in the Richmond District.
October 2018
November 27, 2012
National Results
With approximately 178,000 votes still to be counted (mostly from California), according to Wikipedia President Obama won re-election with 64,880,101votes to Governor Romney’s 60,482,929 votes or 50.86% to 47.41%. Obama won 332 electoral votes to Romney’s 206, with Romney picking up Indiana and North Carolina plus a congressional district in Nebraska over what Senator McCain received.
Governor Romney received about 550,000 more than Senator McCain, but President Obama’s vote was down about 3.6 million from 2008.
The “also rans” included Gary Johnson (Libertarian) who received 1,266,324 at 0.99%, and Jill Stein (Green) at 458,411 or 0.36%. Rosanne Barr (Peace and Freedom) received just 64,620 or 0.05% (more than 75% from California.)
For the U.S. Senate, nationally, the Democrats made slight gains, and now control the upper house of the Congress with 53 seats compared to 45 for the Republicans, and two Independents from Vermont and Maine, Sanders and King, respectively, who will caucus with the Democrats.
For the U.S. House of Representatives, Republicans have retained control of the lower house of the Congress, 234 to 201 – a net loss of seven seats for the Republicans. Four of those lost seats came from California.
30 of the Nation’s 50 Governors are now Republican, a net gain of one seat for the Republican Party.
Statewide Results
President Obama won by a landslide in California. According to the Secretary of State, which is running behind in the compilations of the county tallies, the President is leading Governor Romney, 7,474,360 to 4,650,897 or 60.06%% to 37.51%. That’s roughly the same margin as in 2008.
Dianne Feinstein, in a two-way race, won by an even larger margin against Elizabeth Emken to retain her U.S. Senate seat. The votes were 7,474,360 (62.30%) to 4,522,150 (37.70%).
Down ticket, the Republicans also suffered major defeats, losing four Congressional seats, including those of incumbents Dan Lungren, Mary Bono Mack, and Brian Bilbray (the count is now 38 Democrat to 15 Republicans); and now have just 11 of 40 seats in the State Senate and 26 of 80 seats in the Assembly, meaning that the super majority of Democrats can pass whatever new taxes or tax increases they want without Republican input.
Among the results for the State Propositions, there were a number of surprises, including passage of Prop. 30, which, in addition to an increased tax on incomes over $250,000, included a 0.25% sales tax increase. NOTE: Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposal to extend the sales tax in 2009 was defeated by a two to one margin; Prop. 30 won 55.02% to 44.98%. The liberalization of the Three Strikes Law won by a huge margin of 69.19% to 30.81% statewide. It carried in every county of the State. Although losing – Props. 34 (on repealing the Death Penalty) and 37 (on labeling genetically engineered foods) lost by the narrow margins of 47.92% to 52.08%, and 48.12% to 51.88%, respectively.
Citywide Results
Although the number of registered voters in the City increased by 25,000 over the number registered for the last Presidential election (due largely to the inception of on-line voter registration which began the month before the election), the turnout in November was 364,875 roughly the same as in 2004, but 24,000 less than four years ago. Thus, Citywide turnout was down from 81.25% in 2008 to 72.56% this year.
Also, for the first time in a Presidential election, more San Franciscans voted by absentee ballot (52.9%) than voted at the polls.
Although there were no surprises in the partisan races, given the commanding lead Citywide that Democrats have over Republicans in voter registration, 55.65% to 8.70%, local Republican candidates ran well ahead of Governor Romney and Elizabeth Emken in their respective races. John Dennis, who ran a second time against Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, received 14.92% in the 8th CD compared to 12.47% for Governor Romney; Debbie Bacigalupi, who ran against Congresswoman Jackie Speier, received 17.59% in the City’s portion of the 14th CD compared to 13.81% for Elizabeth Emken; Harmeet Dhillon, the County Chair of the SFRCCC who ran against State Senator Mark Leno, received 14.93% Citywide to Governor Romney’s 13.03%; and Jason Clark, who ran against Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, received 13.77% compared to Emken’s 9.21% in the 17th AD.
In the hotly contested and well-funded race for the open seat in the 19th AD (currently held by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma), Democrat Assessor Phil Ting and Democrat attorney Michael Breyer faced each other in a rematch of the June primary, and Ting won handily in the San Francisco portion of the district by a 57.69% to 42.31% margin, and by 61.0% to 39.0% in the San Mateo portion of what is arguably the most Asian district in the State. As of October 20th, Ting had raised $809,000 since the beginning of his two year campaign. Breyer had raised $1,038,000. It is commonly said, “money can’t buy you victory, but it sure helps.” Breyer trailed Ting by 34.4% district-wide in the primary, and the monies he raised helped to narrow that gap by one half.
There were three hotly contested races for Supervisor, and three which were largely foregone conclusions.
Supervisor Eric Mar won a majority of the first choice votes beating David Lee 53.68% to 38.75%. RCV didn’t become operative in this race. Appointed Incumbent Christine Olague was upset by London Breed in District 5, 56.16% to 43.84% after all the second and third choice votes had been transferred under RCV. In a race which wasn’t decided until several days after the polls closed, School Board member Norman Yee beat
Labor leader F. X. Crowley by just 132 votes in District 7.
In the other three races, in District 3 David Chiu won handily over three opponents with over 75% of the total votes cast; and in Districts 9 and 11, David Campos and John Avalos ran unopposed, although official and unofficial write in candidates received 4.92% and 5.75% respectively.
Two notes on the Supervisorial Races.
In the races in Districts 5 and 7 which were decided by RCV, Breed received only 42.31% of the “continuing” votes (the total number of first choice votes received by all the candidates in her race), and Yee received only 39.84%. Thus, both candidates won by pluralities, not majorities of the votes, with 57.69% of the voters of District 5 who voted for Supervisor not choosing Breed as their first, second, and third choice and 60.16% of the voters in District 7 not choosing Yee. This represents the major defect of RCV, which electoral system this author has opposed since before its approval by the voters in 2002.
Additionally, one of the key variables as to which candidates won in Districts 1 and 5 was the vote by the Board of Supervisors on whether or not to retain Ross Mirkarimi as Sheriff. Supervisor Mar voted against Mirkarimi (when it became clear by the roll call vote that Mirkarimi would be retained). This enabled Mar to demonstrate to voters of his district that he was independent of the Progressive bloc on the Board. After Supervisor Olague voted for Mirkarimi, the Mayors Lee/Brown funding and grassroots campaign apparatus shifted its support from Olague to Breed. The write-in votes in Districts 9 and 11 were clearly protest votes against Supervisors Campos and Avalos for voting for Mirkarimi. In other districts, the write-in votes were less than 0.35% of the total votes cast.
In other races, all the elected incumbents to the Board of Education and Community College Board of Trustees were re-elected, including Sandra Fewer, Jill Wynns, and Rachel Norton for the School Board, and Steve Ngo, Natalie Berg, and Chris Jackson for the College Board. Newcomers Matt Haney and Rafael Mandelman were elected to the School Board and College Board, respectively. Rodrigo Santos, who was appointed by Mayor Lee to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Milton Marks, III, came in a distant 6th, while Amy Bacharach who appeared to be gaining on Chris Jackson in the days after the election ultimately lost to Jackson by 584 votes when the provisional ballots from Districts 10 and 11 were counted.
On ballot measures, Propositions A (Parcel Tax for the College District), B (General Obligation Bonds for the Parks), C (Affordable Housing fund), and E (Gross Receipts tax) won handily, while Props. D and G (Consolidation of Elections and Overturning Citizens United) won by landslides, as did No on F (dismantling O’Shaughnessy Dam).
District 7 versus the City.
Generally, Districts 7 and 4 (the Sunset) are considered the most moderate of the City’s eleven Supervisorial Districts. Everything, though, is relative. In the context of the City, these districts are considered moderate. In reality, the voting behavior of Supervisors Sean Elsbernd and Carmen Chu would be considered Liberal in most parts of California or elsewhere in the Nation. Unfortunately, for the health of the City, the political dialogue is not between Conservatives and Liberals, but between Liberals and Progressives.
The following two tables demonstrate both points.
* 39.50% of the 7th Supervisorial District is in the 12th CD and 60.50% is in the 14th CD; only 17.27% of the 7th Supervisorial District is in the 17th AD versus 82.73% in the 19th AD.
** The percentages for candidates running for the Board of Education and the Community College Board of Trustees are calculated based on the total number of voters who cast ballots, rather than the total number of votes cast among the multiple candidates for these two offices, because voters can vote for multiple candidates and the percentages published by the Department of Elections are not comparable to those in other contests.
*** Although Prop. F was overwhelmingly opposed across the political spectrum, it was opposed by a higher percentage of the vote in District 7 than in the more progressive parts of the City.
# Although Sandra Fewer came in first in District 7, there was a virtual three way tie between her and Rachel Norton and Jill Wynns. She won handily Citywide.
## Natalie Berg came in 1st and Amy Bacharach came in 3rd place in District 7, while Chris Jackson came in 5th place.
The Election of Norman Yee as District 7’s next Supervisor.
I won’t editorialize on race for Supervisor in District 7. Rather, I will let the facts speak for themselves.
The data are as follows:
Clearly, Norman Yee, and the four minor candidates for Supervisor, received a higher percentage of the first choice votes cast with the late absentees, and particularly the provisionals, than they did with the early absentees and the vote at the polls. Thus, the combined first choice votes for Yee and the four minor candidates was only 37.14% of the early absentee votes, but 50.95% of the provisionals. This suggests that these five campaigns had better field operations in GOTV (Get Out The Vote) than the other four campaigns combined.
The vote in Park Merced at San Francisco State University was also instructive of the ultimate district-wide results.
F.X Crowley and Norman Yee received roughly the same percentage of the votes as they did district-wide in the vote at the polls, 22.56% and 28.22%, respectively. in those five precincts, which constitute 8% of District’s vote, but Mike Garcia received only 10.02%, and the combined total for the four minor candidates was 24.88% compared to 11.66% for the district-wide vote at the polls. The vote in Park Merced and at SFSU represented a strong progressive tilt and also a protest vote against Mike Garcia who strongly supported the Park Merced project (which tenants feared would cause their displacement).
The Department of Elections has provided a detailed analysis of how the votes of the various candidates transferred in District 7 under RCV.
Candidates were eliminated from consideration in the opposite order in which they placed, and when the combined totals for specific candidates would not add up to the next person in the ranking, several candidates were eliminated at the same time, but the data remain separate for the purpose of analyses.
*The first choice votes on the RCV Results Report are slightly higher than those reported in the Certified Statement of Vote because the SOV reflects only the first choices marked by the voters in the first choice column. In a few instances, the voters left the 1st choice column blank, but filled in the 2nd or 3rd columns or wrote in the candidate’s name, and the DOE so noted that fact.
Of the 31,385 first choice votes cast for the nine candidates for Supervisor in District 7, 14,457 first choice votes did not go to F.X. Crowley or Norman Yee. Of the 14,457 voters who cast first choice votes for other candidates, 6,507 or 45% had “exhausted” ballots and did not have a role in determining the final winner of the race. In most cases, those voters “bullet-voted” for their first choice candidate and didn’t select a second or third choice candidate. Of the remaining 7,950 voters whose 2nd or 3rd choice ballots were received by the two top vote-getters, F.X. Crowley received 58.2% of the vote versus Norman Yee who received 41.8%.
Had the ratio of 2nd and 3rd place transferred votes from Mike Garcia to F.X. Crowley and Norman Yee remained constant, and had another 400 of Garcia’s supporters not bullet-voted for Garcia but instead cast a second choice vote n the race, F.X. Crowley would have been elected.
Alternatively, had F.X. Crowley and Norman Yee received the same percentage of the vote as they did in the late absentees and provisional first choice ballots as they had in the early absentee ballots and vote at the polls, Crowley would have been elected by a margin of nearly 500 votes when all the votes transferred.
(Analysts) obtained 10 years-worth of records related to the PUC’s Community Benefits Program, grants and contracts. Then…nothing. The PUC audit evaporated as City Hall, DPW and the PUC were rocked by corruption investigations
Check it out"There's not even been one meeting on the underlying project. The plan itself has never been reviewed by any public body or by any group of advisors ..."
Check it outWhether or not another impeachment of the lying, cheating, draft-dodging Donald Trump is inarguably warranted ... It’s no surprise that Trump aspired to pardoning himself; that would constitute his ultimate historical achievement.
Check it outSince Proposition 19 passed, estate-planning attorneys are scarcer than toilet paper during the pandemic. Thanks to Governor Newsom’s misleading Proposition 19, we are seeing panicked strategizing ...
Check it out...the Atomic Energy Commission allowed NRDL researchers ... radioactive waste into laboratory drains at the shipyard, radiation contaminated materials into the industrial landfill on the shoreline and radioactive fuel ships hauled back following atomic explosions ...
Check it outDPH decided to present data only on the number of COVID cases among residents of the 19 Skilled Nursing Facilities in the City, eliminating reporting cumulative case reporting for healthcare workers (staff) at the 19 facilities.”
Check it outWhen the war ended they were free to leave. But they had to find their own way back. To escape the harsh weather they made their way to Kazakhstan via river raft. To return to Poland was dangerous because as Michalski noted, “nobody wanted the Jews.
Check it outD7 Neighborhood News Sources Westside Observer, Ingleside Light, and West Portal Monthly pose tough questions
Check it outOpenness applies to wrongdoing as well. When taxes pay for investigations ... taxpayers deserve to know which City agencies break rules ..."
Check it outBreed and her allies asserted that placing housing on public parcels would save massive amounts of time two years later—still no publicly revealed plans...
Check it outGeneral Manager, who has been charged with corruption. That’s the bad news. A new report about expected capital costs is out, and costs are up 42%. That’s even worse.
Read More ...For almost two decades, “pay-to-play” has pervaded our “City Family” with bribes to obtain millions of dollars in public contracts. Presently, criminal charges have been filed only against powerful non-elected officials.
Check it outIt has taken a pandemic to help all of us process just how critical schools are to our children and our communities.
Check it outPreston accused the Marina Times of being “an entity that has proven time and again that they are a mouthpiece for disinformation ... on par with the likes of Breitbart News and Tucker Carlson ..."
Check it out...even if he and his wife did donate $75 million ... his net worth is $101.2 billion as of November 2020 ... that’s no reason for Zuckerberg’s name to despoil the good name of SF General Hospital."
Check it out"Seven acres of artificial turf that is so toxic nothing can live in it... Toxins from tire crumb can enter the body through inhalation of particulates, fibers, and volatile organic compounds."
Check it outWhile I was repeating over and over “wear a mask...wash my hands... he was creating spaced learning for the alternative universe. Don’t wear a mask... And I am not even going to touch whether he washed his tiny hands
Check it outSince people tend to like money, to varying degrees, I was surprised by the lack of websites about “How much your neighbors or countrymen give to charity.“
Check it outThe Dept. of Public Health Lacks Transparency. Deaths surged 76% and the media went quiet. Why the lack of stories?.
Check it outWater, Fish, and You.
...In super dry years, no way there’s enough water. You will be forced to ration fifty percent, that is, you get half rations of water.
Read More ...In District 7, despite Joel Engardio accruing the most first place votes for supervisor, the third place candidate, Myrna Melgar, employed ranked choice voting to win.
Check it out"SFPUC Watchdog or Lickspittle? From the first meeting of the RBOC, SFPUC operatives and aligned city-family loyalists injected themselves into the business and governance of the RBOC."
Check it outOnce a “benefit” district is formed ... private firms are hired ... The disgraced former head of DPW, Mohammed Nuru, was personally involved ...
Check it out... allow restaurants to increase indoor dining capacity from 25% to 50% ... cases stood at 11,275 confirmed cases ... Another 3,048 COVID cases occurred ..."
Check it out... public utilities were formed so that public officials would not steer the ship of modern electricity. ... the state Public Utilities Commission, would review, and ensure fair treatment.
Read More ...His approach bears the fingerprints of first-lady-elect Dr. Jill Biden ... President-elect Biden ... “You’re going to have one of your own in the White House.”
Check it out... we are down 37% in vehicle burglaries, 27% in assaults, and 36% in robberies. We are currently up 24% in vehicle thefts and 8% in home and commercial burglaries.
Check it out...a patronage network that recycles retiring City employees - including former Willie Brown special assistants” In return, these former City employees provide access to City department managers.”
Check it outAfter being hired in 1998 , she rewarded her benefactor by running against him ... she raised $563,000 for her campaign ... signed under penalty of perjury a ... $211,000 campaign expenditure limit.
Check it out...the largest job, almost a billion dollars, has not gone well. The so-called biosolids digesters — the heart of the operation ... pre-construction services have increased in cost by a factor of 18 times.
Read More ...Since March 2000 voters passed three parks bonds totaling $800.5 million in principal and interest. If this new bond passes, pushing park bonds to approximately $1.3 billion
Check it out... the new regime under Interim Chancellor Gonzalez abruptly ... returned to the previous agenda structure, with very limited public comment — and only near the beginning of the meeting — reservation is now required in advance as well.
Check it outDéjà vu: Controlling Pay-to-Play Donations
In October 2009, former Supervisor Chris Daly proposed an Ordinance that prohibited department heads and employees from steering donations to “Friends of…” non-profits that raised funds for their departments ...
Check it out"Our beloved Golden Gate Park ... natural environment is being replaced by concrete and artificial turf. Two and half million dollars are being spent so dogs can run around?"
Check it out"There is an obvious power grab designed to attack Lowell’s long-term academic status, that provides a unique service to a unique student population, just as School of the Arts does.”
Check it outI agree that we should not celebrate those who represent the worst in our society. But there is true historical value to recognizing leaders who have made our world better—and recognizing them warts and all.”
Check it outInside City Hall’s Web of Corruption
DPW’s subaccounts at the Parks Alliance amassed $990,000... donated by 8 contractors who received $572 million from DPW plus 7 companies that obtained 218 building permits from the Department of Building Inspection (DBI)
Check it outIf LHH was too small for 160 units, how is it now suddenly big enough for up to 375 units?”
Check it out" ... the cleanup reports need to be available to the public. Skipping these steps will result in future lawsuits and the city will be ultimately held accountable, making the taxpayers liable”
Check it outProp. A's — $960 Million Oversite?
Problem is, the Bond Oversight Committee has held only one meeting in 2020 ... Then COVID detonated. Unfortunately, CGOBOC never figured out holding remote meetings accessible to the public.”
Check it outThe developer is proposing a six-unit condo development on the site of a former auto repair shop contaminated with benzene and other pollutants at levels 900 times above residential standards ...
Check it outAudit's Unanswered Questions:
The audit fails to mention that no retaliation claims have ever been sustained by the Ethics Commission. That startling fact has been hidden by reporting only that cases are “dismissed” or “closed.”
Check it outTaraval Crime Report
Police officers from the Tactical Unit, Specialist Team, and Taraval Neighborhood Team (TNT) served a search warrant on the 1500 block of 48th Ave.”
Check it outAny time someone mentions a good book, I literally just go to my phone and reserve it on the App. That says a lot...”
Check it outThe federal subpoena demanded the resumes, job descriptions, and performance evaluations for “any PUC employee who earned at least $100,000” since 2010 ... Evidently, the feds are probing cronyism as well as self-dealing
Check it outSix contenders respond to the questions that will guide the next 4 years in the district.
Check it outThe arts touch our emotional core, whether it is song or dance or drama or drawing. The arts can connect the mind and the spirit and help guide children from crisis to confidence.
Check it out"The giveaway, linked to corrupt leadership, sacrifices precious public land for private profit ... leaves City College more vulnerable and is a significant reversal in our goal of income equality"
Check it outThat’s not a balanced budget; it’s a gaping hole she plans to solve by kicking pay-raises bargained for in good faith down the road.”
Check it out"Assuming teachers agree to these and additional detailed conditions, school begins August 17th."
Check it outWhile the FBI is investigating city bigwigs, SFPUC personnel included ... Everyone in power is complicit in forcing the rate payer to “donate”
Read More ...A photographer goes in search of life on the Avenue ... dining and browsing are available on sidewalks, parking spaces and in some stores inside within strict limitations.
Check it out"The authors of the San Francisco Plan Bay Area 2050 are asking for public feedback on their 9-county plan to provide solutions ... "
Check it outOur city is in big trouble. And it is not just because of Covid-19 It is because of a continued string of bad policies and decisions by City Hall over the past 10 years.
Check it outWhether it’s protests about police violence and racism or defiance of government orders to wear a mask, the most fundamental issues of our democracy are being played out every day in front of millions of people.
Check it outDennis Herrera's retaliatory sewer-gate debacle, alongside the FBI's recent arrest ... jab at the City's anti-graft capabilities.
Check it outCity College Stakeholders File CEQA Appeal"This is NOT the time for any Project to go forward that will all but destroy the access for 70,000 college students, most of them from working class, immigrant, black or brown communities."
Check it out"... the heralded notion of "defunding" police ... risks a return to the high-crime era of the 1960s and 1970s that damaged so many American cities. That applies to San Francisco, which suffers supervisors who berate police and ostracize them politically."
Check it out"... the issue of Black Lives Matter is on everyone’s lips. Unfortunately, many Americans do not acknowledge institutional racism. But consider the numerous steps that led to the problem and two alternative policing solutions."
Check it out"Teachers, who are already using their own money to buy school supplies are now also purchasing masks and materials in order to be prepared ..."
Check it out"If schools do not open this fall, it is likely to induce students to interact with one another outside of school. At school ... it is easier to enforce facemask and social distancing ..."
Check it out"SFPUC Failed to Protect Clean Water The Beach Chalet Soccer Fields (BCSF) in Golden Gate Park used to have a permeable surface; it's called grass."
Check it out"... your water, wastewater, and garbage rates are special taxes ... Your great-grandchildren should not be paying for a service provided in 2020."
Check it outMorale was sagging. Capt. Rainsford ... apparently referenced how the police had handled previous protests.
Check it out...whether the discrepancy is due to President Trump wanting CMS to “slow down” the testing and positive test results...
Check it out...the attitude of professional sports team-owning billionaires that local taxpayers must provide stadiums for their professional sport businesses ...
Check it outa $1.7 billion deficit over the next two fiscal years which could reach over $2.5 billion per Controller Ben Rosenfield...
Check it outSFPD officers spend 99% of their day responding to where 9–1–1 customers direct them. It is 9–1–1 callers themselves who determine the location and quantity of encounters.
Check it outDevelopment is in trouble. If Parkmerced, which is the largest multifamily property in San Francisco is an example of the future of development in San Francisco, it is in very real trouble.
Check it outBoard of Supervisors seek solutions ... raising concerns among the public about the possibility of long-term use of parkland to address social and economic problems ...
Check it outThe SF PUC will sell over 17 acres, for approximately $11.2 million — about $640,000 per acre for prime SF real estate to a privateer for more than 90% below market rate ...
Check it outHopes were that recovering from COVID-19 would generate antibodies, thus conferring immunity and peace of mind. Plus, survivors could help treat newly-infected COVID-19 patients by donating their convalescent plasma. It's not that simple.
Check it outWhile water and sewer bills are not taxes, they are worse. They hit ordinary people harder ... and rates are determined by cost. When costs rise, so do rates.
Read More ...Popular Articles
Life returns slowly to West Portal People are beginning to return to West Portal — and other Westside businesses are ready to make sales...
Check it outMy Mom is Not Disposable...universal testing in all group care facilities, where asymptomatic staff can begin a deadly outbreak, is now being publicly recognized. But it is slow to happen.
Check it outTommy refused to social distance...... Upon arrival, the two officers immediately observed Tommy was bleeding from his mouth ...
Check it outDouble Whammy... Schools throughout California are facing severe budget cuts for the next few years...
Check it outWe've been here before...after the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, the incomprehensible murders in Guyana...AIDS and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake...
Check it outPlanning to 'streamline' CEQA? ... projects that formerly might have needed extensive review under CEQA would be approved unilaterally by Planning staff if the projects met specific requirements ...
Check it outWhere Are Our Priorities? Nursing homes are like cruise ships, and the outbreak at Central Gardens is illustrative...
Check it outNuru was not the FBI’s main target of the investigation—he was the bait to lure someone bigger.
Check it out...a coyote attack raises the question... How do we coexist with wildlife?
Check it out...suspending access to public records — even temporarily, is clearly dangerous to open government.
Check it outTaxpayer costs will exceed $5 million since the City has been paying the Keker & Van Nest law firm $850/hour to defend Herrera. They already billed the City $2,267,75, in September 2016...
Read More ...Don’t be fooled: you’re being sold insurance. Do you have a choice? Yes you do…
Read More ...… City Officials are worried that Nuru is about to negotiate a plea bargain deal naming names as he is facing twenty years in prison.
Read More ...